Overview

• About 100 minibuses remain parked at Anik depot under an IRP’s control and are due to be auctioned after BEST formally terminated the M P Enterprises contract.
• BEST’s owned fleet stands at just 430 buses out of 2,661 in operation, falling short of the 3,337-bus target and losing over 350 vehicles as wet-lease operators withdrew.
• Passenger groups have scheduled protests outside 27 depots on August 7 to demand service restoration, fare relief and transparency on depot redevelopment.
• The Maharashtra Gig Workers Forum and allied app-cab unions are threatening a statewide strike after July 29 over unmet fare-chart and worker-protection demands.
• Critics and union leaders argue that dependence on private contractors has eroded BEST’s in-house capacity and compromised commuter safety, calling for full public control of operations.